by Randi Rigby
“Think for once, before you act.” Luke’s electric blue eyes narrowed. “You do that, and you’ll just end up hurting him. Is that what you want?”
My hackles instantly rose. “Better a little hurt now than a lot of heartbreak later.”
“You gonna tell yourself that when he blames you for coming between him and his girl?”
I stabbed him in the middle of his hard chest with my forefinger. Even standing on my tiptoes and in three-inch wedge sandals, I still couldn’t meet him eye-to-eye, but I was laser-focused on his. Neither of us blinked. “Absolutely. Because—unlike you—I’m perfectly willing to sacrifice my happiness for his.”
“Children,” Cal laughed. “Are you at it again?” He walked up the path to Miller’s house with Jasmine in tow, the two of them holding hands and looking very much like a couple. “I swear I can’t leave these two alone together for five minutes without them wanting to kill each other.”
Luke and I instantly stepped apart, both of us breathing a lot harder than you’d expect for two athletes at rest. Jasmine was blatantly checking Luke out, her gaze slowly traveling down his long body. I wanted to smack her. Cal couldn’t have been more oblivious.
Luke shook his head. “You’re wrong,” he said, sliding a hand around my waist and gently pulling me to his side. “Harper came with me.”
This was not untrue. But the way his thumb lazily rubbed the waistband of my white crop pants, his arm still wrapped loosely around me, suggested it wasn’t just because we’d both happened to be heading the same direction.
Cal looked like his mind had just been blown. I had to admit, mine felt a little off-kilter as well. But I knew what Luke was doing and why. Turning to wrap my fingers possessively around his rather considerable bicep, I forced myself to smile sweetly at Cal and Jasmine. “Nice to see you again, Jasmine. Have fun tonight.” And with a flip of my high ponytail, I followed Luke inside.
4
Luke
Latching on to Harper at Miller’s party had been an act of desperation, not one I was particularly proud of—especially since everyone seemed to be making a big deal over it. Conversations stopped. Eyes followed us around the room.
“What’s everyone staring at?” I muttered under my breath. Harper had intertwined her fingers with mine. Cal and Jasmine were close at our heels as we made our way through Miller Hardwell’s house.
“Man up. This was your idea.” Her voice tickled softly in my ear as she leaned into me, her hand at the nape of my neck. The trouble with both of us being so tall was we really stood out in a crowd. “Relax. Do you seriously think, given our history, that anyone’s going to actually believe we’re together?” She spotted Kate Andrews talking with Erika and, with an obvious wink at me, slipped away to chat with some of her friends. Cal was busy introducing Jasmine around, so I took advantage of the lull to escape to the Hardwell’s backyard.
“So, I thought Adams said he’d break both legs of anyone who tried to get close to his sister,” Jon Tucker said, finding me alone by the pool. He played second baseman for the Panthers and was a junior who’d had a crush on Harper since he was a freshman.
I took a sip of my drink. “He meant anyone else.”
Tuck thought this over. “But all you guys ever do is pick at each other.”
I remained silent.
“I watched her throw an ice cream sundae at you.”
One of the softer missiles she’d hurled at me over the years.
“You tossed her in the pool,” Tuck insisted.
“You going somewhere with this?”
He slowly shook his head and sighed. “How do I get girls to throw ice cream at me?”
“Luke?” I actually smelled Jasmine before I saw her—the girl wore a lot of perfume. Tuck and I both turned around. She was alone.
I immediately began casting around for Cal. And Harper. Neither of them was in sight. “Hey Jasmine, do you know Jon?” I asked. What had Harper said about introducing Jasmine to as many guys as possible? I looked objectively at Tucker. Even for a junior, he was skinny. Jasmine barely noticed him. Maybe it was an Adams thing, but at least Harper had a way of making everyone around her feel like they mattered. That was probably why she had Tucker wrapped around her little finger.
“Are you trying to avoid me?” Jasmine said it coyly, her arms crossed as she looked up at me through her lashes, but she stood there waiting, fully expecting an answer.
Absolutely.
“That wouldn’t be very nice,” I replied, setting my drink down.
“And Luke is always very nice,” Harper said, sliding her hand up my arm. I felt an unexpected rush of warmth at her return. She’d come to my rescue. “Hey, Tuck, how are you? Nice shirt. I like it very much.” She beamed at him, which made him blush. “I think Cal’s trying to find you, Jasmine. Something about an ice run?” I knew that face. Harper Adams might look like an angel, but she couldn’t fool me. “The last time I saw him, he was in the kitchen with Miller.”
“You think she’ll be mad when she finds out?” I said as we watched her disappear back into the house. Miller never ran out of ice.
“What?” Tuck asked, confused.
I’d forgotten he was there. “Nothing. Would you excuse us for a minute? I need to talk to Harp for a bit.” The minute we were finally alone, I closed my eyes and pushed my hands through my hair. “I’m sorry.”
She flicked me hard on the forehead with her finger. “You should be. I can’t believe it, but people actually think we’re going out.”
I opened my eyes and glared at her. “What did you expect them to think? You were hanging all over me.”
Harper’s hand was twitching. She was dangerously close to my glass. “Whose fault is that?”
“Fine.” I owned it. “What are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. Let me think for a minute.” Not something Harper Adams was known for. I watched as she wore down a small patch of the lawn thinking. Finally, she stopped and said, “Okay, let’s just put it out there—Jasmine can’t be trusted. Do we agree?” I slowly nodded. “She’s a snake. What I really want is to ship her and her fake tan straight back to San Diego, but Cal’s totally smitten. Knowing him, he’d probably follow her.” She made a face like she’d just got a whiff of something unpleasant and sighed. “I don’t want to let him out of my sight, but you know he’ll get suspicious if I’m suddenly clingy—he spends all his time with you. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it seems like the best way for me to keep an eye on him and her hands off you is to keep this up. At least until we can get rid of her.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
She made a face and shuddered. “I know, trust me. But it’s for Cal, right?” That seemed to put an end to any lingering doubts she might’ve had. She tugged on her ponytail. “But if we do this, there needs to be a few ground rules.” Bossy Harper was in the house. “First,” she held up a finger. “No PDA.” She looked at me like I might actually object.
I shrugged. Whatever.
“Seriously. You try to kiss me, Drake, and I’ll slug you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Anything else?”
“My parents are going to be seriously weirded out. We can’t go overboard with this boyfriend/girlfriend thing.”
“Don’t worry. That’s the last thing I want.”
Harper let out a deep breath.
“Do I get to add something to the list?” I asked. Harper looked up at me, surprised, but mutely nodded. “No more throwing things at me.”
She sighed and seemed resigned, and then maybe even a little sad. “Ever?”
“Please.”
“Fine.”
“So you and Harp?” Cal said. He’d just dropped Jasmine off and circled back to the basketball court in the park in the Heights, which of course, had lights—my neighborhood was much more considerate of the homeless who might want to sleep there. I’d been shooting hoops while I waited. I threw him the ball.
“Is tha
t okay?”
He nailed a three-pointer. “I guess.” He pushed up his sleeves. “I mean, it’s just so sudden. I didn’t even know you liked her.” He shook his head. “In fact, I was pretty sure you didn’t.”
I made a left-handed reverse layup and slammed in a dunk. “I do.”
Cal stared at me for a long time. “Okay.” He threw an arm around my shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
The Adams family went to Hawaii for spring break; they usually did. It forced me to spend time with my own family, so when Cal texted me they were back late Sunday night, the tightness in my chest instantly dissolved. It was irrational, I know, but facing the void in my life without them seemed overwhelmingly bleak. Having them home again and safe, somehow righted my universe. I’d never told Cal this, but I’d only committed to playing ball at Duke after I knew he planned on going there.
Miss me? Harper. I stared at her text.
Who is this? I texted her back.
Ha. Just for that, I’m not giving you the present I bought you.
I smiled. Is it shell oriented?
Oriented? Pretty big word for a jock. I thought you mostly grunted. I’m not telling. It’s a surprise.
That you’re not giving me.
Right. Go to bed.
I might have been grinning when I plugged my phone into its charger for the night. Then I crawled into the bottom bunk bed in the cramped room I shared with my little brothers and went to sleep.
Monday morning, I slipped out of the house before anyone else was awake and ran the almost five miles to school. Coach Samms had given me a key to the side door when I was a freshman so I could come in and use the showers in the locker room before reporting to his office to work for a couple of hours before school started for the day. I’d never been sure how he knew I needed the money—I’d never talked to him about my personal life—maybe he’d just noticed I was the only player never to have family show up to a game. When he’d offered it, I’d jumped at the chance. Playing as many sports as I did, didn’t leave much time for a part-time job.
Today, he shuffled in, a cup of black coffee in one hand, a clipboard in the other, his baseball cap already on his balding head as he waved in the general direction away from the gym—which pretty much represented the rest of the outside world to him. “Morning, Luke. Drama department needs us to move set pieces from the woodshop to the theater. Grab Mr. Ramirez if you need another set of hands. Last time I saw him, he was waxing the floors outside the Chem lab.”
I worked as fast as I could so I’d be done before the rest of the staff and students started to arrive. Besides wanting to avoid the obvious embarrassment, I didn’t know who at the school knew about my job or what kind of strings Coach had to pull to get it for me. I didn’t want to get him in trouble.
Harper found me by my locker just before the first bell. She glowed from her week in Hawaii, wore a big grin, and had trouble written all over her face. “Close your eyes,” she said.
“No.”
She covered them for me with her long fingers. “Give me your hand.”
Sighing, I put it out, palm up. I felt something light drop onto it and then suddenly, I could see again. I looked down and frowned. “I don’t wear jewelry.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not jewelry. It’s a couples’ bracelet.”
“Anything with the word bracelet in it is definitely jewelry.”
It was made from brown cord with a small, black metal infinity symbol attached to it. She wore a tan version already on her wrist.
She plucked the bracelet from my still open palm and immediately began tying it on my right wrist for me. “I saw this and just knew you’d hate it, because I hated it. We’re in high school for heaven’s sake—I can’t even get a date to prom. Seriously, what’s up with this infinity crap? But you know who was all over it? Yeah. Cal texted her a picture. We are not going to be out-coupled.”
“Hey, Luke,” Cal said, startling us both. His arm was around Jasmine, who watched us with interest. They both wore infinity bracelets.
Harper backed into me. I put my arm awkwardly around her shoulder. It was one thing to try and pull this off at Miller’s with a bunch of our friends on a Friday night, but this was Monday at school, in the light of day, even the freshmen were gawking. Harper slipped her hand around my waist. I felt my breath hitch. “Oh, you got them too!” Jasmine squealed, flashing her own wrist. “Aren’t they just the sweetest? Like, seriously, the sweetest. I just adore mine.”
Harper’s smile started out starchy, and for a split second, her whole expression looked slightly pained. But then her eye caught her brother’s, and the gentle pleading in them changed her demeanor entirely. She softened right in front of me. “Right? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be with these guys forever?” She patted my abs a little too firmly with her right hand, the one with her bracelet on so we matched. “Anyway. Good luck with your first day, Jasmine. I’ve got to scoot. I can’t be late for class again. Walk me?”
I nodded and closed my locker door. Anything to escape Jasmine’s hungry eyes.
“I know I said no PDA, but could you at least try and act like I don’t have the plague?” Harper said as we headed down the hall to English Lit. AP Calculus for me was one flight of stairs over and a long hallway down from her first class, so I’d be hauling to make it there in time.
“Meaning what, exactly?”
“Hey, Kate.” Harper waved at Kate as she passed us by, and then stared at me. “Put your books in your other hand.”
I did as I was told. Harper took my now empty hand in hers. It felt strange.
“People who like each other do this,” she said, smiling for the benefit of everyone who was staring at us. “They want to.”
“Fine. Can we pick up the pace a little? I’m going to be late.”
She squeezed my hand hard as our stride quickened. “Do you ever stop whining?” Then she groaned as reality hit. “I’m going to have to eat lunch with you.”
It seemed unavoidable. “Sorry.” We’d arrived at her class. “But look at it this way, at least you’ve got a date for prom now.”
She threw me a dirty look before disappearing inside.
5
Harper
Erika and Luke had two classes with Jasmine, and I had one. Thankfully, she didn’t have any with Cal. She immediately tried to get Luke to be her tutor for Business Essentials and Spanish. He told her he didn’t have the time. “But you could straight up tell she didn’t believe him,” Erika said, sunglasses on, her arms folded in front of her as she delivered her report on the grass just off the track. “She’s watching them practice right now—in a very tiny halter top.”
Athletes from two visiting schools were scattered across the field. I’d been jogging in place for a bit to warm up my muscles as I digested all this. “Ugh. I can’t do anything about that, I’ve got a race to run,” I said, staring off in the direction of Sweet Mountain High’s ball diamond.
“You want me to go sit with her?”
I made a face. “How about on her?” Mom started to wave her arm at me. They’d reversed the order of events for this meet. I knew she was worried about us missing our starts. “That’s my cue. I’m stuck here, Ka. This meet won’t be over for ages.”
“What do you want me to do?”
I’d begun to head toward Mom, backward. “Whatever you want. I’m not going to worry about it—I can’t. Luke’s a big boy. He can handle it.”
I told myself that while preparing for and racing my first three events. If there was one thing Luke knew how to do, it was protect Cal. So, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to find him sitting in the stands next to my brother and, as it turned out, Jasmine, who looked . . . chilly. But when I spotted his unmistakable build next to Cal’s, it still startled me. Erika had planted herself on Luke’s other side. She gave me an innocent smile as I slipped over to talk to them in my break. “Looking good out there, Harp!” She high-fived me and bumped Luke’s shoulder. �
��Your boyfriend here was impressed.”
Luke seemed embarrassed. “I knew you were fast. I’ve just never seen you race before.”
Cal laughed. “Remember that time in seventh grade when we grabbed her phone and tried to get away on our bikes?”
I’d chased them down and hurled the croquet mallet I’d just happened to have been holding into Luke’s back wheel—busting his spokes, the mallet, and earning us all a solid grounding. “How could I forget? I had road rash for weeks from the crash.” Luke’s elbows rested on his knees. “How come you never throw things at your brother?”
“I like him,” I said without thinking.
Erika looked heavenward. She’d warned me about this back at Miller’s party when she’d demanded to know when and why Luke and I were suddenly a thing. “You’ll never be able to pull this off,” she’d said, shaking her head. “You two are next-level when it comes to fighting."
I blushed.
Sure enough, Jasmine, startled, immediately leaned forward to check out Luke’s reaction, but his face remained impassive—the result of many years of our ongoing bickering. Snap. What would a girlfriend do? Slowly stepping in between his long legs, I wrapped my arms around Luke’s neck. His blue eyes went wide with surprise as he watched me. I nudged the lid of his ball cap up. “And you’re way more fun to bug,” I teased with a little smile.
A sudden flare of heat between us caught me off guard. Our eyes registered it. In a blur of background noise and movement, I couldn’t seem to look away.
Cal cleared his throat. I blinked and dropped my hands. Nervous now, I turned my attention back to the field. “I should probably get back. Mom’s going to wonder where I went, and I think they’re about ready to start the 800m relay.”
Everyone wished me good luck except for Luke. He stood and hugged me and quietly said, “All out.” It was Luke and Cal’s battle cry, not one they shared with anyone else but something they said to each other before every game they’d ever played. I knew this because Cal had told me that once in a moment of sentimentality. It was their promise to not hold anything back, to give it their all. I swallowed hard. For some reason I couldn’t quite explain, being included in Luke’s small circle meant a great deal to me. I looked down at his wrist. He still wore his infinity bracelet. He brushed mine with his thumb. “Go on. Get out of here.”